BJP won Lok Sabha polls by playing communal card: Rahul Gandhi

"BJP had succeeded in winning Lok Sabha elections based on communalism and even public failed to recognise the fact," Rahul told an election rally here.

He accused BJP of "cheating" people of the nation by showing sweet dreams and "misguiding" them on communal lines.   

Gandhi was addressing public rally at Bani, organised in support of Congress candidate Rajneesh Sharma Miyan.   

He was accompanied by Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ambika Soni, JK state chief Saifuddin Soz on his campaigning for the party candidate.

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi

PM Modi to address rallies in Jammu ahead of final phase polls

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sources said Modi will address rallies in Kathua district and Jammu city. "PM Modi's first rally will be held at Mandi in Billawar constituency and the second at MA Stadium in Jammu City," a party source said.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is also scheduled to address two election rallies in the Jammu region on Tuesday. Twenty constituencies in Rajouri, Jammu and Kathua districts go to polls on Saturday in the fifth and final phase of state assembly elections.

In the fourth and penultimate phase of Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections in 18 constituencies, the voters defied separatists' boycott call and chilly weather and came out in good numbers on Sunday to record a 49 percent turnout  

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi

Sandeep Dikshit included in Congress's Delhi election panel

Apart from Dikshit, four other leaders - former Union ministers Kapil Sibal and Krishna Tirath, and Yoganand Shastri and Mateen Ahmed -- have been named as the members of the committee headed by Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Arvinder Singh.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi had on November 25 approved the Pradesh Election Committee (PEC), Manifesto Committee, Publicity Committee and Disciplinary Committee for the ensuing Assembly elections in Delhi.

Controversial figures and former Congress MPs Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar did not figure on any of the panels recently set up by the party for polls in Delhi.

Sheila Dikshit and Ajay Maken are members the poll panel which will look after the preparations for the forthcoming Assembly elections.

Source: Chhattisgarh Hindi News and MP Hindi News

PM believes in marketing, concentrating powers in his hands: Rahul Gandhi

Accusing the NDA government of treating democratic processes as "useless", the Congress Vice President said "Today (Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha) Mallikarjun Khargeji was speaking but the microphone was switched off."
  
"We never did this kind of thing. Their thinking is that the democratic process is useless and not required. They cannot say it outside but this is their thinking," Gandhi said.

Adressing an alumni meet of Youth Congress, Rahul charged BJP does not believe in democracy and on the contrary when there was UPA government at the Centre, leaders of opposition parties always got a chance to speak in parliament.

He also referred to the protest led by him in Parliament over the controversial remarks of union minister Niranjan Jyoti amid a stalemate between the government and the opposition on the issue.

He said while the programmes of UPA were eaimed at giving power to the people at large, those of NDA government "snatch power from people".

"This is the difference. The Prime Minister feels that he alone can run the country. He deeply believes in this. And this can never work. Only people of this country will run it...His thinking is of symbolism. Say anything, market it and then start saying the next thing. People will react to it," Gandhi said as he also sought to pick holes in the Prime Minister's Sansad Gram Yojana scheme.

Source: Chhattisgarh Hindi News and MP Hindi News

Youth Congress to play active role in party's revival: Sonia Gandhi

On the occasion of an Alumni Meet of Youth Congress here, in which the old the young generation of party leaders came together, the Congress President did not deliver a speech at the event and interacted freely with Youth Congress leaders.
  
"In the coming days, Youth Congress will have to play a major role like it had played in 1977 to 1979, when Congress was out of power," the Congress President said while interacting with them.
  
She said that Youth Congress will have to play a major role in future and "the senior leadership of Congress will emerge from Youth Congress in future".
  
Gandhi asked the Youth Congress workers to bring a new energy in the party at a time, when Congress is down after its worst-ever electoral defeat in the Lok Sabha polls getting only 44 Parliamentary seats.

Source: Chhattisgarh Hindi News and MP Hindi News

BJP MLA thrashes 15 junkies for eve-teasing women

Eye witnesses claimed that BJP MLA Sudarshan Gupta beat up 15 miscreants at the Rukmani Devi Park near Malaharganj police station when women complained that the junkies had eve-teased them and school girls.

The women too reportedly joined the MLA and thrashed the drug addicts.

"These people have disturbed the peace in Malaharganj area. I have warned them that if they were noticed at public places henceforth, I will catch them and hand them over to the police," Gupta told reporters.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Congress spokesman Narendra Saluja said the incident showed that the law and order situation in the state had turned grim in the BJP rule and illegal businesses like sale of narcotics thrive right under the nose of police.

Saluja, however said that Gupta taking the law into his hands was incorrect. Like a law abiding public representative, Gupta should have ensured that the police took a stern action against the miscreants, Saluja said.

"Promt action will be taken if any such incident is reported to us by public in the Malaharganj area," Additional Superintendent of Police Aditya Pratap Singh said.

Source: Chhattisgarh News in Hindi and MP News in Hindi

Will discuss possibility of Janata Dal-2 next month: JD(U)

'A meeting of all the scattered leaders of the Janata Dal has been convened at the residence of Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav in New Delhi in the first week of December to discuss the possibility of constituting Janata Dal-2", national general secretary of Janata Dal(U) K C Tyagi
told reporters here on Friday.
    
Attacking the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tyagi said that instead of doing work he has been making tall claims.

"Therefore I give him 100 per cent marks in the exam on making tall claims while in the exam on doing some work he gets zero from my side", Tyagi said adding that nothing has been done on his promise to bring back black money in 100 days.
  
Tyagi said that a "vada nibhao" (keep your promise) rally would be taken out.
  
On a question regarding Congress, Tyagi said that its president should consider reorganising the party for keeping it alive.
   
On the Bihar Chief Minister's statement considered to be in favour of Prime minister Narendra Modi, Tyagi said that it would be reviewed seriously.
  
Majhi had in a statement said that if Bihar was granted the status of special state, he was ready to support Modi.

Source: Chhattisgarh Hindi News and MP Hindi News 

Won't project CM candidate in Delhi: Congress

Party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters that the Congress always fought polls under collective leadership but it was surprising that BJP which projects chief ministerial candidate was not doing so in Delhi.
  
The chief ministerial candidate of Delhi of BJP is Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said taking a dig at the ruling party at the Centre.
  
Asked about the statement of Dikshit, who led the Congress government in Delhi for 15 long years, that she does not want to contest, he said that may be her personal view, but a decision on who should be in the fray is taken by the high command and not individual leaders.
  
In the Assembly polls last year, Congress had not only lost power but finished third after BJP and newly-found Aam Aadmi Party.
  
Singhvi dismissed as "absolutely rubbish" speculation that the party has constituted a committee for Delhi polls in which two controversial leaders Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler have been accommodated.
  
"These kind of rumours are absolutely rubbish. There is no committee, no  meeting. It is time media should also exercise restraint and get their information checked from the most authentic of sources in the party", he said.
  
AICC General Secretary Shakeel Ahmed, who is in-charge of party affairs in Delhi, also spoke in similar vein. He said that the party would constitute the relevant committees only after the announcement of the poll schedule.

Source: MP News in Hindi and Chhattisgarh Hindi News

Bar bribe row: Chandy seizes on differences in CPI(M)

"It was Achuthanandan himself, as Leader of the Opposition who wrote a letter to the Director of Vigilance to hold an inquiry. It was on the basis of this letter that the government asked the Vigilance to look into the issue. Now Achuthanandan is doing a somersault by demanding a CBI probe," Chandy told reporters in Kannur.

Taking a divergent stand from the party leadership, Achuthanandan had yesterday pressed for a CBI probe into bar owners' allegation that Finance Minister and Kerala Congress (M) supremo K M Mani had demanded a hefty sum as bribe for favourable decisions.

He reiterated his stand through a statement yesterday despite CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan making it clear that the party had not yet formed its view on the mode of probe it would prefer and cast doubts about the credibility of the central investigation agency.
  
"CBI is the sole agency which is capable of interrogating Mani as well as Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and other ministers ...That is why I asked for a CBI probe and that is what the people of Kerala also wish", the leader said in his statement.
 
With the "bar bribe row" denting its image, the Congress- led UDF Government has asked the Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau (VACB) to look into the bar owners' charge against Mani.

Source: MP News in Hindi and Chhattisgarh Hindi News

Campaign by Indian-Americans led to Indo-US civil N-deal: Book

Leading Indian-American entrepreneur and activist Swadesh Chatterjee in his book 'Building Bridges: How Indian-Americans Brought the United States and India Closer Together', provides a first-hand account of the involvement of the influential community in getting the deal through the  US Congress.
  
"The Indian government hired high-powered and high-priced lobbyists to press their case, but it was really the Indian-American community that took the lead in the campaign for civil nuclear agreement," writes Chatterjee.
  
The book hit the stores in US this week while its Indian edition is expected to be released later this year.
  
"Swadesh, you are wasting your time," the then powerful Congressman, Gary Ackerman, a leading lawmaker of the House Caucus on India and Indian Americans told him, when he went and met him and sought his support.
  
"This deal is dead on arrival," Ackerman told Chatterjee, according to the book.
  
"There were few takers for the bill," Chatterjee said.
  
"But we were determined to get the bill through the Congress. This we strongly felt was in the best interest of both India and the US. We believed that this was the golden opportunity for the two countries to come together,"
Chatterjee added.
  
Chatterjee, who had received the prestigious 'Padma Bhushan' award in 2001 for his role in lifting of American sanctions after Indian nuclear tests, was the one who received the first call from the then Indian Ambassador to US,
Ronen Sen, after the then US President, George W Bush, announced the outline of the civil nuclear deal during his trip to India in March 2006.
  
"Swadesh, I need your help getting this accord through Congress," Sen was quoted as saying in the book.

Source: MP News in Hindi and Chhattisgarh Hindi News

Rahul Gandhi starts deliberations after string of poll reverses

As part of the exercise, the Congress Vice President held lengthy consultations on Friday with senior party leaders Sushilkumar Shinde, Amarinder Singh, Janardan Dwivedi, Mukul Wasnik, Girija Vyas, Shashi Tharoor and Ajay Maken.
   
This was the third such interactive session held by him in the last few days, seen as an exercise by the leadership to assess the situation to decide the future course, Maken told reporters.
   
While the Antony Committee, which went into the debacle in the Lok Sabha polls, was the first step, the interactive sessions initiated by Gandhi is the second step in the plans to decide the future course and strengthen the organisation.
   
Gandhi's exercise comes close on the heels of the party losing power in Maharashtra after 15 years and finishing third in Haryana in the Assembly elections held recently.
   
The talk in the party is that the exercise initiated by Gandhi was akin to "mini Chintan shivirs" to generate fresh ideas for revival of the organisation.
   
The Congress leadership has been talking about holding a 'Chintan shivir' ever since the defeat in the Lok Sabha polls in May which saw the party securing the lowest number of seats, 44, in the 543-member Lower House.
   
Reports had it that Gandhi has called leaders from across the country to Delhi to draw up a strategy to "revive" the party and stop the BJP’s "upsurge" under Narendra Modi.
   
On Thursday, he chaired a meeting of party leaders, including Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ambika Soni, Jaipal Reddy, Jairam Ramesh, Sachin Pilot and Meenakshi Natarajan, Mani Shankar Aiyer and Ashok Tanwar.
   
Party chief Sonia Gandhi is not participating in the "first of its kind" meeting -- a signal that Rahul may play a more pro-active role in the party in the coming months.
   
An organisational revamp is long overdue in the party. The process of party polls has also been set in motion with Gandhi asking party leaders to utilise the exercise as an opportunity to revive and revitalise the organisation.

Source: MP News in Hindi and Chhattisgarh Hindi News

Congress slams LG for seeking government formation, says polls only way

"It is surprising that the Lt Governor is exploring the possibility (of government formation) when not only Delhi, but the whole country knows that it is not possible in Delhi in the present situation," Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmed told reporters here.

Ahmed, who is the in-charge of party affairs for Delhi, said that the Lt Governor should be in fact the first person who should know that no party would be able to form the government here at this juncture.

The Delhi Assembly has been in suspended animation after the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government stepped down from office in February this year. The AAP government had the outside support of Congress.

Ahmed alleged that the moves initiated by the Lt Governor were "all delaying tactics".

"This is all delaying tactics. BJP is trying to come to power through the back door with the help of the honourable Lt Governor. BJP is trying to run away from elections," he said.     There is "no other option" but to hold fresh polls in Delhi, he added.

At present, BJP and ally Akali Dal with its lone MLA, account for 29 legislators in the Delhi Assembly. The party will require the support of five more MLAs to prove its majority in a House whose strength stands reduced to 67 MLAs after three BJP legislators won in the Lok Sabha polls from the city. The total strength of the Delhi Assembly is 70.

Bypolls for the three vacant seats are to be held late next month.

At the AICC briefing, too, the Lt Governor came in for criticism with party spokesperson Shobha Oza wondering what Jung had been doing all these months and why he has suddenly invited political parties to explore the possibility of government formation.

Told, meanwhile, that the previous Congress-led UPA government had appointed Jung to the post and asked whether that had been a "misjudgment", Oza said that the party was not questioning his appointment.

Source: MP News in Hindi and Chhattisgarh Hindi News

Centre may opt for fresh polls in Delhi

"If no government formation takes place, we will have no option but to hold elections. We will take a quick decision according to the suggestion of the Lt Governor," the government functionary said.
  
The NDA government nor the BJP was interested in doing anything "undemocratic" that will bring "disrepute" to the party as well as the government ahead of the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand, he said.
  
By-elections for three assembly seats in Delhi are also to be held next month.
  
The Centre, on Tuesday, told the Supreme Court that the President has given his consent to the Lt Governor's proposal to invite BJP to form government.
  
Rapping the Centre and the LG over the delay, the apex court said that in a democracy President's Rule cannot go on forever and questioned why the authorities failed to act expeditiously.
  
At present, BJP and ally Akali Dal with one MLA, account for 29 legislators and will require the support of five more MLAs to prove majority in a House of 67 if it decides to form the government. The party is hoping of getting the support of expelled AAP MLA Vinod Kumar Binny and Independent MLA from Mundka Ramvir Shokeen.
  
The total strength of the Delhi Assembly is 70 and the three vacancies it has to be filled in by-elections late next month.
  
AAP had formed the government in Delhi with the support of Congress. The government led by Arvind Kejriwal had resigned on February 14 after the party's pet project, Janlokpal Bill, could not be passed due to opposition from BJP and Congress.
  
President's Rule was imposed in Delhi on February 17.
  
Jung had not favoured dissolution of the Delhi Assembly as recommended by the council of ministers headed by Kejriwal and kept the Assembly in suspended animation.

Source: MP News in Hindi and Chhattisgarh Hindi News

Congress workers block Bajwa's car, seek his removal from party post

The situation took an ugly turn outside a hotel in busy Feroze Gandhi Market, where Bajwa accompanied by party secretary in-charge for Punjab Harish Chaudhary came for lunch.
  
The protesters blocked his vehicle. One of them lifted the wiper from the windshield and stuck a poster on it, reading, "Partap Bajwa go back" and "Bajwa Hatao, Congress Bachao" (remove Bajwa, save Congress). The protesters also showed him black flags.
  
There was also a minor scuffle between the protesters and his supporters.
  
Pradeep Kumar, one of the protesters alleged that he was manhandled by Bajwa supporters while he was peacefully raising the slogans.
  
An irritated Bajwa tried to avoid the protesters and rushed inside the hotel.

Bajwa, who has been here for last four days, has been facing regular protests.
  
While his first day marked the launching of the signature campaign for his removal, the subsequent days were marked by protests and burning of his effigies.
  
On Wednesday, however, the protesters directly confronted him with black flags, banners and posters asking him to go back and urging the party high command to remove him to save the party in Punjab.
  
When Bajwa was confronted by media at the hotel about the treatment meted out to him by his party men, he shot back "I have not invited media here" while refusing to make any statement on the issue.

Source: MP News in Hindi and Chhattisgarh Hindi News

Need good quality seeds to make farming beneficial: Harish Rawat

Inaugurating the Krishak Mahotsav 2014 here  Rawat said availability of good quality seeds to farmers, use of modern and cheaper farming techniques and helping farmers get the right price for their produce are three focus areas identified by the state government to promote agriculture in the state.

Setting a target for the agriculture department, he said at least 100 farmers in every block be registered as seed producers and a few as nursery producers.

Production of plants should also be encouraged as business.
 
To make farming beneficial, at least 80 percent farmers in plains and 33 percent in hills must be provided with modern seeds over the next two years to enhance their productivity and also the quality of their produce, Rawat said here on Tuesday.

Under the 'Humare Ped Humara Dhan’ scheme, planting of fodder and fruit producing trees is also being promoted, he said.

The need is to develop fruit markets, Rawat added.

To provide a market to fruits produced in the state, orders have been issued to include 10 percent fruit content in local liquor, he said.
  
Putting emphasis on mechanical farming, the Chief Minister said he was not averse to increasing the subsidy on farming equipment if the need for doing so is felt.
  
However, in comparison to other states, Uttarakhand is getting more subsidies in farming equipment and other areas, he said.

Claiming that the state government is sensitive to the problems of farmers, he said a pension scheme for them has been launched.
  
The Chief Minister also said the government will provide assistance for improving the condition of old poly houses.

Source: MP News in Hindi and Chhattisgarh Hindi News

Delhi BJP chief names new team

Upadhyay, who had a round of consultation with central leadership, has not included any MLA in his team and given important roles to councillors instead.

South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri has retained the post of general secetary while two councillors - Ashish Sood and Rekha Gupta-- have also been appointed to the post.

The general secetary's post is said to be important in the party setup as they are expected to perform all major organisational tasks in the event of the party forming a government in Delhi.

The list of new Delhi BJP team was released late last night.

Upadhyay has also appointed eight new vice-presidents. These are Tilak Raj Katari, Rajni Abby, Vishakha Sailani, Jai Prakash, Shikha Rai, Abhay Verma, Kiran Chaddha and Kuljeet Chahal.

Besides, eight new secetaries have also been appointed and Kamaljeet Sherawat has been named the new women's wing president.

Nakul Bhardwaj has been appointed youth wing president. Aman Sinha, Poonam Jha Azad, Harish Khurana, Rajeev Barbara and Dipika Sharma have been appointed as spokesperson while Praveen Shankar Kapoor is the new media convenor in the Upadhyay's team.

Source: MP News in Hindi and Chhattisgarh Hindi News